Popular southern footballer to get the ball (9)
I believe the answer is:
inswinger
'the ball' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'popular southern footballer' is the wordplay.
'popular' becomes 'in' ('in' can mean trendy).
'southern' becomes 's' (abbreviation).
'footballer' becomes 'winger' (winger is a type of footballer).
'in'+'s'+'winger'='INSWINGER'
'to get' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for inswinger that I've seen before include "moving ball" , "ball from fast bowler" , "Swerving ball" , "swerving delivery" , "delivery curling through air" .)